


Snapshots

by Master of Procrastination (Paper_Heart)



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Childhood, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-11
Updated: 2018-08-03
Packaged: 2019-04-21 16:50:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14289204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Paper_Heart/pseuds/Master%20of%20Procrastination
Summary: Various points in the life of Winn Schott from the day his father is arrested to the time he begins working at Catco





	1. Age 10

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this going around my head for a while and it wouldn't leave me alone so I thought I would write it down. I plan to update hopefully on a weekly basis.

Winn was scared. He was sat in a room similar to ones he had only ever seen on television and nobody would tell him why he was there. He had gone to school that morning like he did every morning and everything had been fine until just after lunch. He had been called out of his classroom to find two police officers who had only said he needed to come with them before they had brought him to the station, sat him down at the table in the room and then left him alone. He wanted his parents. He had asked the police officers who had picked him up from school if he could see them and they had told him he would see his mother soon and then had said nothing for the rest of the journey. Winn had decided, in the time he had been sat alone, that it was well past soon and wanted to see her now.

The door opened but it wasn’t his mother who entered the room it was two more police officers. One male and one female, Winn may have been young but he knew that the smiles they gave him when they entered weren’t real. 

“Hi Winslow”, the man said softly as he took a seat in front of him, “I’m Detective Sanders and this is Detective Harrison”, he gestured towards the other officer who was stood leaning against the wall, “we want to ask you a few questions if that’s OK?”.

Sanders folded his hands on the table in front of him watching Winn carefully. Winn stayed quiet he wasn’t normally too worried around adults but he wasn’t usually alone with them without his parents. Harrison stepped forward and took the seat next to Sanders.

“I guess you’re a bit nervous”, she said gently but to Winn she didn’t sound like she cared if he was or not.

“Where’s my Mom?” He asked still wanting to know why she wasn’t there when he had been told he would see her soon.

“She’s here, she’s just helping us with something and we were hoping you could help us too”, Harrison was still wearing the fake smile. 

“Can I See her?” The questioned caused the smile to falter just slightly

“Not just yet” Harrison replied. Winn could tell she was getting frustrated but he didn’t care he just wanted to see his mom. 

“We just want to ask you a few questions first about your father”, Sanders pulled out a notebook and a pen from his shirt pocket ready to write down anything Winn said. Winn perked up at the mention of his father.

“Is he here too? Can I see him?”

“No” Detective Sanders’ tone was harsh and he dropped his hands back to the table with a bit more force than he had intended which caused Winn to jump slightly in his seat. He sighed when he realised he’d frightened the boy and lowered his voice to speak again.

“Look Winslow..”

“Winn”

“What?” Sanders was really trying to keep calm. 

“My name’s Winn”, Winn was getting braver he could tell the detectives were becoming annoyed that he wasn’t cooperating and he hoped that would mean they would take him to his parents sooner.

“OK Winn”, Sanders started again, “Your father has done something really bad and we just want to talk to you about that alright?”

“You’re lying” Winn said shaking his head, that couldn’t be right his father wouldn’t have done anything bad. The detectives were definitely lying.

“I’m afraid he has, and a lot of people got hurt”, Harrison added and Winn noticed that her fake smile had gone. So had the one worn by Detective Sanders. 

“Look your father has been arrested”, Harrison said her tone trying to get him to believe her, “you know the police wouldn’t arrest anybody unless they had done something bad don’t you?”

“I want to see my mom”, Winn mumbled and continued to stare at the table.

“You can’t see her right now Winn I’m sorry but you need to talk to us”, Winn didn’t think Sanders sounded very sorry.

“Can you tell us about your father’s workshop?” Harrison asked trying to get the conversation back to where it needed to be. 

Winn wasn’t really listening he just wanted to speak to his mother, “Where’s my mom?”. He saw the annoyed looks the two detectives gave each other in front of him but he didn’t care he just wanted to go home. Sanders and Harrison were silently trying to figure out a new tactic when the door to the room opened again. Winn looked up to see his mother enter the room, he launched himself out of his chair at quite an impressive speed running over to hug his mother tightly around her waist. 

“Why are you questioning my son without me here?”, Winn was taken aback by how angry his mother sounded but he only gripped her tighter. Neither detective took notice of her tone.

“It was exceptional circumstances Mrs Schott”. Sanders stated taking a step forward.

That didn’t help his mother calm down, “I understand you questioning me, but my son is ten years old, he’s a child he had nothing to do with any of this”.

“Maybe we can do this another time” Harrison said before leading Sanders out of the room and leaving Winn with his mother. “What’s happening?”, Winn asked although the question was muffled from still being pressed tightly into his mother. “Not now Winn OK?”, he nodded against her and he felt his mother pull him away from her before taking his hand and leading him through the station. 

Winn was aware of the eyes on them as they walked down corridors but he couldn’t understand what the problem was. He did realise that they were going the wrong way to be going out the main entrance though.

“Why are we going this way?”

“Not now Winn please”, his mother held his hand tighter as she continued to take him towards the back of the station. Winn didn’t fail to notice how stressed and tired she sounded.

“Mom?”, he asked again, quieter this time which caused his mother to stop and look down at him. “I’m scared”. 

His mother quickly got to her knees in front of him. “I know Winn, I’m scared too”, Winn couldn’t believe that his mother was scared. She never seemed to be scared of anything and that worried him more than what the police had said about his father. “I need you to be brave with me right now OK? We’re going to go outside into a police car and they’re going to take us somewhere safe where we can stay for a few days”. 

Winn waited a few seconds before nodding. He wanted to ask why they couldn’t go home and why it was just them but knowing his mother was scared too made him stay quiet. He just wanted to get away from the station and everyone looking in their direction. Winn let his mother pull him out of the back door and into a waiting car. He watched his mother tense as they were driven away and past a large group of people with cameras and microphones. They couldn’t be waiting for them could they? He wanted to speak to his mother again but could tell this wasn’t the right time. He would just have to wait until they were allowed back home with his father and they could go into his workshop and build a toy and everything would be back to normal. Winn would just have to wait.


	2. Age 11 part one

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Glad I could get this out before the weekend. Obviously the latest episode means this is not canon but I never expected it to be. Winn's back story was a lot sadder than I thought it would be.

The bench Winn was sat on was too hard to get comfortable and the suit he’d been made to wear felt too tight around his neck. His mother had handed him over to a court appointed chaperone as she hadn’t wanted him to witness his father’s trial no matter how much he had protested that morning. The chaperone had smiled at him warmly before leading him over to the bench he had been sat on for what felt like hours. The woman, Kate, had attempted to make small talk but had given up when she had realised Winn wasn’t going to talk.

The longer they sat there waiting for the time Winn was due to take the stand the more nervous he was getting. He had been told what to expect when he entered the courtroom by both lawyers and the judge and his mother had told him to just focus on her and not worry about the others in the room. None of it had really reassured him though. People had tried to shelter him from the realities of what his father had done but some of the news reports and hushed whispers from those who heard his name had made it through any attempt to protect him. 

Winn was scared of what he would see when he looked at his father again. He hadn’t been allowed to see him since his arrest and now after several months he had built up an image of the monster that had taken his father from him. 

His thought process was interrupted by a hand on his shoulder he jumped and turned to look at Kate who still had the warm smile on her face, “it’s time to go in. Are you ready?”, Winn wanted to respond by saying that of course he wasn’t ready but Kate actually seemed nice and he didn’t want to be rude. Instead he just nodded and let himself be lead into the courtroom. 

Once he had taken his seat he took a deep breath before looking at his father. He didn’t know what he had expected but the man in the orange jumpsuit didn’t look any different from the man who would let him stay up past his bedtime to help build toys in his workshop. The same man who introduced him to star wars and had tried to come to every school play. He quickly looked away and instead tried to find his mother. But he couldn’t see her and fear began to sink in. The judge obviously sensing a shift in Winn’s emotional state decided to move things on quickly.

“There’s no need to be afraid”, he smiled down at him, “no one here is going to hurt you they’re just ask you a few questions”. 

Time may have felt like it was frozen outside the courtroom but inside everything moved at a lightning pace. Questions were answered and Winn answered them the best he could. He felt utterly alone despite the room full of people. The one person he needed. The one person who had promised to be there had broken their promise. Winn felt like crying but he was not going to appear weak not in front of his father so he held it all in and hoped it would be over soon. 

Winn was asked question after question what did they get up to in his workshop?, Did his father ever get angry at Winn or his mother?, What things did his father keep in his workshop?. By the time it was over Winn couldn’t remember what he had said he was more focused on where his mother was. When he was finally let down and lead out he ran straight to Kate “have you seen my mom? She was supposed to be in the courtroom. She promised she’d be there”.

Winn was beginning to get distressed and Kate’s surprised look didn’t help the situation. She composed herself quickly, “It’s been a really stressful day for everyone but especially your mom I’m sure she just needed some air and to step away for a few minutes”, Kate saw that Winn wasn’t buying it, “wait here a second and I’ll go ask someone OK?”. Winn took a seat back on the bench while Kate hurried off to speak to anyone who may have seen where the boy’s mother could have gone.

Winn wasn’t sure how long he was left alone before Kate returned but he only noticed her when she sat down next to him. “So we think your mother left court earlier today and it doesn’t look like she’s come back. We’ve tried calling but there’s no answer at your house so the police are going to check everything is alright”, she chose her next words carefully, “she may have just needed some time alone and lost track of time. I’m sure she’ll be here before you know it”. 

Winn kept his hope up until it was the end of the day but it was obvious to him that his mother wasn’t returning. Kate had stayed with him the whole time. Another woman approached them she didn’t even look at Winn just addressed Kate. “I take it this is the boy”, Winn had already decided he hated this woman. She was hard and cold with eyes that suggested she was not to be crossed. It was only after Kate had confirmed that yes Winn was the child she had been sent to collect, that she turned her attention to him. 

“I’m Mrs Sampson I’ll be taking you from here”, she quickly turned heading towards the exit noticing Winn hadn’t moved she made a sharp 180 , “Hurry up I have people waiting to receive you”. Winn slowly moved towards her glancing back towards Kate who smiled reassuringly at him as she watched him leave.

Once Winn had been lead out of the courthouse and into the car that had been waiting, Mrs Sampson rounded on him again. “I’m taking you to a group home tonight, we’ll sort out a more permanent place in the morning”, the way she spoke Winn felt like she hated him or at the very least held a strong disliking to him. He knew it was because of his father and he decided then and there that he was going to do everything he could to prove he was nothing like him.


	3. Age 11 part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So first update in a few weeks, a new job and general life stuff got in the way but I should hopefully be updating a bit more regularly now everything has settled down a bit

The group home Winn had been taken to hadn’t been so bad once Mrs Sampson had dropped him off. He’d been shown to a room which was empty apart from the basic furniture and was obviously only used for emergency temporary placements.No one had bothered him much after he arrived which Winn appreciated it meant for a few hours he didn’t have to think too much about what had happened to him, just the odd look and whisper from others in the home.

Some of his belongings appeared at some point, clothes, a few books Winn guessed the police had broken into his house. There was also a photograph of him with his parents from a couple of years before. He’d wanted to tear it when he’d seen it among his things. It just showed him what he’d lost but he found he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He placed it in one of his books where he knew it would be safe but he could ignore it and avoid looking at it. It was a combination of the photograph and the day’s events that when he was finally alone that night he didn’t even attempt to fight the tears. He curled up in bed and just let all the emotions spill out. 

Winn was woken up the next morning to knocking on his door and someone informing him that his social worker was there to collect him. He didn’t say anything when he saw Mrs Sampson, he wasn’t in the mood to talk. His lack of conversation did not go down well.

“I hope you’re more polite to the family I’m taking you to stay with. They’re good people you should be grateful I’ve found you somewhere so quickly given your...circumstances”, Winn didn’t miss the sneer in her voice. Winn remained quiet which only seemed to irritate the woman more. Winn wondered when she’d stopped caring about the children in her care, or if she’s ever actually cared at all. 

They drove in silence for nearly an hour before they reached a nice looking suburban house. Winn hoped the people who lived in the house were as nice as their home indicated. He walked slowly behind Mrs Sampson as she led him up the path to the front door. He only looked up when the door was pulled open to reveal a couple in their 40’s. 

“Alice”, the man greeted cheerfully, “it’s been a while”, Winn was surprised by the smile that appeared on Mrs Sampson’s face he’d assumed she didn’t have the ability to do that. He was so focused on this that he hadn’t realised the man’s attention had shifted onto him, “and you must be Winn?”, Winn just nodded, he couldn’t seem to find his voice. 

“I’m sorry”, Mrs Sampson said after a few moments Winn noticed that the sneer seemed to be back, “he’s being very rude today for some reason”.

“Nonsense”, the woman jumped in suddenly, “I’m sure you’re a very polite boy just a bit overwhelmed today”. Winn decided he liked this couple a lot more than he liked Mrs Sampson. They seemed to be warm and pleasant. “Come in”, they stepped aside and Winn took a hesitant step forward. The inside of the house was just as warm and welcoming as the people who owned it and Winn felt himself relax slightly. 

Winn realised after a few moments that Mrs Sampson wasn’t following. “I’m afraid I can’t stay, lots of other cases to sort out today”, she turned to Winn bending down to his eye level and placed her hands on his shoulders, “I’m sure you’ll be on your best behaviour won’t you Winn? The Carter’s are good people I really don’t want to be hearing anything about you until I see you again in a few weeks. Understood?”. Winn resisted the urge to glare and instead nodded his understanding.

Mr Carter took Winn through into the living room while his wife finished dealing with Mrs Sampson. “Still not feeling very talkative huh? Don’t worry I’m sure you’ll open up once you’ve settled in a bit. I’m Leo and that’s Becky”, he nodded towards the front door, “we don’t have too many rules so I’m sure you’ll be ok”.

Surprisingly it didn’t take Winn long to settle in with the Carter’s. He felt himself relax a little more each day. Although he still hoped that his mom would return for him, after the first week he stopped crying for her at night. Leo and Becky treated Winn like a normal child his age, they didn’t look down on him or say anything to him about his father. He wished school had been the same.

Winn had been allowed a week off before starting his new school, the Carter’s believed it was best to let him get used to new living arrangements before adding a new school into the mix. The first few days had gone ok but then the whispers started and the looks as he walked through corridors. It wasn’t just the children but some of the teachers too, Winn kept to himself as much as possible not even attempting to make friends. 

Winn had been with the Carter’s for three weeks before things came crashing down. He should have expected it. Other than school everything had been going so well. He couldn’t believe he’d been so stupid. 

Leo had been complaining for days about the toaster, it wasn’t quite broken but wasn’t doing its job. Winn knew he could fix it if he could just get the casing open he’d spent enough time around electronics to fix something as simple as a toaster. He should have just said that’s what he was going to do not try and do it as a surprise to thank them for taking him in. 

Winn’s idea of being helpful had Leo finding him early one morning at the table with the toaster in bits and wires exposed. Winn looked up in order to explain when he saw the pale look on Leo’s face. It took Winn a few seconds to realise why. Here he was, the son of a murderer whose weapon of choice had been bombs, surrounding by wires.

He’d tried to explain. To apologise. But the damage had already been done. The Carter’s had found the situation a bit too shocking like they suddenly realised who they had in their house and they were scared. Winn could see it in their faces. So after three weeks he was back in a car with Mrs Sampson who had yelled at him for several minutes about how he was lucky they had called her and not the police. Winn had learnt his lesson though. He needed to be much more careful with everything he said or did.


	4. age 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Winn gets moved to a new foster home. It does not go well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it's been quite a while work plus a volunteer project I'm involved with has meant no time to write but I'll keep updating when I can this story will get finished.

After the incident with the Carter’s Winn had been sent back to the group home, he hadn’t minded it too much there were a lot of kids there and he was mostly left alone. To the other kids there he was a freak and rumours about why he’d been sent back had been circulating by the morning after his return. But lots of kids meant that he’d been able to keep to himself and focus on his school work. Although he’d tried to not to tinker too much with anything that contained wires since he’d been sent back he believed he’d be safe with computers. He knew he could use them better than most kids his age, knew how to speak their language and get them to talk to each other. 

The group home had a small room that contained four computers for use by the children to complete school work if needed. Winn spent a lot of time in that room under the guise of completing work. He did spend time completing school work but he also used the time to figure out exactly how much he could get computers to do. 

Winn figured all he had to do was keep his head down for the next few years get out of high school and go somewhere far away where no one would know who he was. He had hoped the group home would be a permanent move. There was safety in numbers, although most of the other kids knew who he was the rumour he’d tried to build a bomb was enough for the others to mostly left alone. Even the kids at school avoided him. It was a lonely existence but for Winn it was the best situation he could hope for.

It didn’t last. Several months after being sent back to the group home it was decided that a new placement attempt might do him some good. The group home staff believed that some time away with a foster family might bring him out of his shell, increase his confidence and self esteem. Winn did not agree but his protests fell flat. Which is how he found himself packed and waiting in the office for his social worker to arrive. 

Winn hardly glanced up when Mrs Sampson walked through the door and he definitely did not try to hide the scowl on his face. He had held out hope that it might be someone else that walked through the door. He really hated that woman and Winn knew the feeling was mutual even if she faked cheeriness around other adults. The few times she and Winn had been alone since the first time they had met the social worker had not hidden her dislike of him in the slightest. Winn guessed her dislike of him was why he hadn’t been moved from the group home sooner.

Mrs Sampson turned away from the staff member she had been talking to in order to look down on Winn from where he sat waiting for instructions.  
“Well come on then Winn time to get moving we don’t want to be late do we?”, Winn really wanted to comment about her time keeping but held his tongue. Instead he smiled politely for the benefit of the staff member before following Mrs Sampson out of the door. 

The ride to the new foster home was mostly spent in silence. They had been travelling for nearly forty minutes when Mrs Sampson finally spoke to him again. 

“The Jones’s are aware of your past incident and know to watch you like a hawk. Any hint or sign of disobedience, trouble, or illegal activity will not be tolerated. Understand?”

“Understood”, Winn answered he was starting to get nervous about where he was being taken.

“They have a son a few years older than you it might do you some good to have a proper role model around”, there was a sneer in her voice and Winn clenched his jaw tight. He knew she was only trying to get a rise out of him. Prove that he was like his father and he refused to give in. He would not give her the satisfaction. 

A few minutes later they were pulling up to a house that to Winn felt off. He couldn’t place it but it didn’t feel right. He followed Mrs Sampson up the steps to the front door and despite it being August he felt a shiver up his spine. The door was opened by a stern looking woman who greeted Mrs Sampson with a quick nod before her grey eyes focussed their attention on Winn. 

“So this is Winslow?”, she addressed Mrs Sampson. She was studying Winn so intensely he had forgotten how to breathe.

“It is. He has had some problems with placements in the past but it can hardly be surprising with his background. I'm sure you’re the best place for him”.

“Of course we are. I’m sure we’ll soon get him straightened out. Isn’t that right Winslow?”.

Winn couldn’t answer he knew he would need to watch his step in this house. He felt pressure on his back as Mrs Sampson pushed him forward. He reluctantly stepped over threshold and was immediately met with the coldness on the other side of the door.

The next few days confirmed Winn’s suspicions of why things felt off. There were rules for everything. What time to get up, what time to go to bed, what chores needed to be done and at what time. When he could eat and what he could eat. The list went on any infringement of a rule was met with punishment anything from being sent to bed without dinner to being forced to scrub the bathroom clean with a toothbrush.

The punishments, according to Mrs Jones were to build character. It seemed Winn could do nothing right even when he was trying he was punished. Sometimes he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to have done but he’d learnt his lesson on answering back after being sent to bed without food or water on his first full day at 11am so he kept his mouth shut and put up with what he was asked to do.

The role model he was suppose to find in the Jones’s son was also none existent. Jason made it his mission to torment Winn and make sure his life was miserable w couldhenever . He would attack Winn when he knew no one was around, was careful not to leave bruises that could be seen, and made sure Winn knew he was unwelcome. 

On top of everything he’d been forced to move schools again. A new school where, by the end of lunch on his first day, his identity had already spread through most of the building. By the start of his second day any friends he thought he may have made abandoned him to protect themselves from being linked with the freak. 

Winn was utterly miserable at home and at school. He tried to keep his head down completed all his school work and hoped that he would be moved again soon. In the months he was with the Jones’s he grew more anxious and more scared of what was to come. The combination of the rules, punishments and the attacks from Jason resulted in Winn suffering his first panic attack in the middle of the school day after discovering he’d forgotten a piece of homework which he knew would result in detention and then further punishment at home.

The attack got him sent to the office where school staff mentioning calling the Jones’s to pick him up sent him spiralling into another attack he was finally removed from the Jones’s and sent back to the group home. Winn in his naive 12 year old brain had thought that the Jones’s were the worst he could suffer. The worst he would be allowed to suffer. He was wrong.


End file.
